The US government official transition to referring to artificial intelligence as "Super Intelligence" has sparked scrutiny following a massive surge in Slovenia's .si domain registrations. According to BBC data, monthly registrations for .si domains escalated from fewer than 2,000 in August to approximately 44,000 in September.
Key Takeaways
- Slovenia .si domain registrations increased from under 2,000 in August to roughly 44,000 in September.
- Donald Trump issued an executive order on September 29 directing federal agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" instead of AI.
- Investor Adam Cochran noted around 12,000 AI- or MAGA-related .si domains were registered or traded prior to the federal rebrand.
- Cybersecurity firm Netcraft attributed the spike to domain speculation due to .si costing $11 per year compared to $180 for two-year .ai registrations.
Executive Orders and Domain Speculation
President Donald Trump initially floated the term "Super Intelligence" on Truth Social on September 19, later employing the phrasing during an address at the United Nations on September 22. On September 24, Washington signed an official partnership agreement with Slovenia—the birth country of Melania Trump—covering semiconductors, critical minerals, and secure supply chains. On September 29, an executive order mandated that federal agencies adopt "Super Intelligence" and "SI". This follows previous policy directives such as when Trump signed the White House AI safety accord.
Market Dynamics and Unproven Allegations
Investor and policy consultant Adam Cochran claimed that activity began as early as June, with AI-related .si names selling for tens of thousands of dollars. Cochran alleged that roughly 12,000 AI- or MAGA-related domains changed hands before the public announcement, prompting economist Roman Sheremeta to label the phenomenon an alleged enrichment ploy. However, no public records or evidence connect these purchases to Trump, his family, or his inner circle.
Analysts at Netcraft indicated that domain traders simply leveraged lower costs, noting .si domains cost about $11 annually, whereas .ai registrations require approximately $180 for two years. Netcraft observed that over half of the .si domains registered at Dynadot between September 19 and the UN speech were immediately relisted for resale. Other industry figures have also scrutinized recent government policies, similar to how Elon Musk equated White House AI accords to peer grading.
Why It Matters
This domain rush underscores how quickly market speculators move on government policy shifts and naming conventions. While speculative surges around country-code top-level domains are common when arbitrage opportunities exist, public regulatory actions will continue to draw intense scrutiny regarding potential insider activity. Moving forward, observers will watch whether federal oversight committees review early registry logs or if the market simply absorbs the speculative inventory.
